Lonely Nights (Tag to 'The 8th Year')
by Holz9364
Summary: This is a tag to 'The 8th Year' but can also be read as a stand alone fic. Harry and Hermione are with their respective partners now, but what happened between them in the tent when Ron was gone will always stick in their minds. Rated M for a fairly vivid-ish sex scene, first proper sex scene I've written so apologies if its rubbish or if I got the rating wrong.


**The Tent**

_**A/N: this is sort of a tag-along fic to 'The 8**__**th**__** Year' but it can be read without reading it. Harry & Hermione are with Daphne & Draco now, but they still need to talk about what happened between them in the tent when Ron was gone. So this tag along fic is basically set around them talking about whether or not they should tell their respective partners about what happened between them **_

* * *

It was a rainy November night. Almost everyone was in bed, or at least everyone who had returned for an 8th year to Hogwarts was, because the common room was empty, there was only one person sitting in front of the fire in an armchair at 3am on a Wednesday night.

When Harry Potter made his way back into the common room he had tried to sneak, but then he fell over after catching his foot on the leg of a table, this of course led to much cursing.

'Harry!'

Harry breathed a sigh of relief; the person by the fire was only Hermione.

'What were you doing sneaking around?' Hermione asked as she tried to get her heart rate back to normal.

Harry untangled himself from his invisibility cloak and made his way over to the fire, he slumped down onto the armchair next to Hermione's and replied, 'I just went to the Room of Requirement, I do that sometimes when I need to think. Why are you still up?'

Hermione shrugged and stared into the fire which was almost dead now and was flickering out, 'I was just thinking too,' she admitted.

'Wouldn't it be ironic if we were both thinking about the same thing,' Harry said with a sigh as he watched the flames in the fireplace weakly try to continue but ultimately fail as they continued to shrink.

Hermione laughed weakly, 'I doubt you were wondering whether you should tell Draco about what happened in the tent when Ron was gone.'

Harry's eyes widened, 'no,' he admitted, 'but I _was _wondering whether I ought to tell Daphne.'

'Really?' Hermione asked in surprise, she tore her eyes away from the fire and caught Harry's eye, he nodded, 'I know we only got together this week, but she's been so honest with me these past few days,' he shook his head, 'She's told me all about her exes and the people she has history with, and I've told her about Cho and Ginny, but not you.'

'She's friends with me,' Hermione said with a small frown, 'do you think that she would take it okay?'

'I really don't know,' Harry said truthfully, he felt a headache coming on, 'hence the reason I was pigging out on chocolate in the room of requirement.'

'Don't suppose you've got any left?' Hermione asked with a small smile, Harry smiled back and reached into his cloak, 'as a matter of fact I do,' he pulled out his last bar and threw it over to Hermione who caught it swiftly, 'thanks.'

'So why haven't you told Draco yet?' Harry asked curiously.

'Because you two are practically best friends these days Harry,' Hermione said, sounding like she had a lot on her mind, 'I don't want to screw up that friendship, or my relationship with him for that matter.'

'He asked me about it a while ago,' Harry admitted slightly sheepishly, 'I lied, I told him that nothing had happened and that I loved you as a friend.'

'Harry! How am I supposed to tell him the truth now? He'll think we conspired together and lied!' Hermione said in exasperation as she rested her head in her hands.

'Well you were rocky at the time, it was before everything was smooth sailing, I didn't want to tell him the truth and risk it messing things up for you guys,' Harry said honestly, he grimaced, 'it's so bloody complicated Mione, how do you explain that?'

'I don't know,' Hermione said with a sigh, 'I wish I could get it out of my head.'

Harry gave her a small smile and said, 'you can,' he hurried up the stairs to the boy's dorm and returned a moment later with what looked like a small silver bowl.

'A pensieve,' Harry said and Hermione realised what he wanted her to do. She shut her eyes and placed her wand to her forehead, a moment later she pulled a long silver strand from her head and placed it in the bowl. It hovered for a moment and then vanished into the liquid.

'Feel better?' Harry asked, but Hermione only sighed, 'just a little.'

'Come on,' Harry said, and he took Hermione's hand, 'we need to relive it I think, to get past it truly.'

Hermione nodded, she knew it was true, but she wasn't looking forward to it, the time in her life they were referring too had been highly emotional. All the same she allowed Harry to pull her into the pensieve and the memory.

When Hermione opened her eyes she was back in the tent and Harry was standing beside her, but at the same time she was watching herself. She remembered this night, Ron had been gone a while, it was just after Godric's Hollow when they had nearly died.

They were standing in the bedroom of the tent looking at themselves. Harry was lying in the lower bunk of bed. He looked extremely pale and almost like he was dead. Hermione was sitting next to him with tears streaming down her face. She was dabbing dittany on his arm, her tears seemed to be mixing with the medicine, and the wound was oozing blood and a horrible purple pus.

'Harry please,' Hermione sobbed as she buried her head in Harry's chest, he was sweating and shaking in his sleep, 'don't die.'

Harry didn't remember any of this, so watching it surprised him, he looked to his right where Hermione was crying, so he reached across and placed his hand in hers. Hermione gripped his hand tightly, as if holding on to him for dear life.

Harry watched as Hermione lay in bed next to his unconscious convulsing body and rested her head on his bare chest, she didn't seem to care about the sweat, 'I can't lose you Harry,' Hermione whispered, 'not you, not after Ron…' she trailed off and sobbed quietly into his chest.

The memory shifted but things looked very similar, Hermione was still by Harry's side and Harry was still unconscious.

'You were like that for 2 days,' Hermione said with a lump in her throat which she desperately tried to swallow. Harry watched the scene unfold in surprise.

Hermione was dabbing more dittany on the wound, it looked slightly better, it was only oozing pus now, the blood was gone. Hermione was still talking to Harry even though she knew he couldn't hear her.

'I remember everything Harry,' she was saying quietly, her eyes were red and puffy, 'I remember watching you get sorted, I'd read about you and I wanted to know you, but I was shy around you because you seemed so famous,' she sighed, 'I remember you and Ron saving me, ever since that day I've been so scared all the time,' Hermione began to cry again, 'I'm always so scared of losing you Harry, and I just want it to be over, I want to be able to be with you and not be scared for you.'

Harry squeezed Hermione's hand and she squeezed it back.

'_Please get through this Harry,' Hermione whispered into his ear, 'I need you.'_

_Harrys body was still convulsing slightly, but at these words it got worse and Hermione really broke down, she didn't know what to do, she wasn't a healer, she had never been an expert with healing charms._

'_Harry!' Hermione shouted in fear as she tried to stop the convulsing but she couldn't, she watched in horror and after a moment it stopped. Hermione then fell to her knees by the bed, her sobbing was worse than ever, 'I'm so confused Harry, because I think I might be in love with you, but I think I love Ron too, but you just can't die, you just can't, I need you, Ginny needs you.'_

_At the mention of Ginny, Hermione froze, 'and you love Ginny, of course you do, I'm only your friend, I've only ever been the best friend.'_

_She went quiet and Harry stopped convulsing, _as the memory shifted once more Harry kissed Hermione on the cheek and said, 'you've always been more than the best friend.'

The next scene began to play out, and this was one that Harry actually remembered.

_Harry opened his eyes and saw Hermione standing over him, he blinked a few times and groggily said, 'Mione.'_

'_Harry!' Hermione said, the relief in her voice was clearer to Harry now watching it back than it had been at the time._

'_You've been out for 2 days, I've been so worried,' Hermione said gently as she helped him drink some water. Hermione explained vaguely what had happened and let Harry regain his strength. Now that she knew he was alright she could relax a little bit more._

_Harry took a moment to come to his senses but then managed to sit up and make his way into the living room where Hermione was sitting on an armchair. They sat down and didn't speak, and the memory shifted to slightly later that night._

_Hermione had just come in from her watch when she saw Harry sitting up in bed, he was watching her strangely so she sat down next to him but didn't speak._

'_I was worried about you Hermione, at Godric's Hollow.'_

'_I thought you were going to die, from the poisonous bite,' Hermione admitted, feeling vulnerable, 'I was so scared.'_

_The two friends caught each other's eye and slowly began to move towards each other. Harry stopped just centimetres away from Hermione's lips as if asking her if she was sure. Hermione answered by closing the gap between them. The kiss was slow, it was gentle and it was sweet, but it wasn't just a kiss, it was filled with emotion. Quickly the gentle kiss turned more passionate and Hermione felt herself melting into it as Harry gently bit her bottom lip and slipped his tongue into her mouth, Hermione moaned as Harry flicked his tongue over hers and momentarily felt like she was floating, as cheesy as it sounded, even in her head._

_Hermione was disappointed when Harry broke the kiss, but when she caught his eye she was surprised, she saw such raw emotion there and she realised that this was the most vulnerable she had ever seen her best friend. He was asking her once more with his eyes if she wanted to do this, and again Hermione replied with a slight movement of her head and by leaning in and capturing Harry's lips once more. They both cried, and neither of them were quite sure why they were crying. This kiss was just as passionate as the first had been, but this time Harry allowed his hands to roam._

_Hermione had thought nothing could feel better than the way Harry was kissing her, but then he slipped his hands under her top and allowed his fingers to brush over her nipples, this made Hermione moan gently into Harry's kiss. Harry groaned at the sweet sound and broke the kiss to pull Hermione's top off. The two friends shared another look and this time Harry was giving Hermione one last chance to back out, but she didn't, she captured Harry's lips once more and broke the kiss only to pull off the baggy shirt he was wearing._

Harry's thoughts were nowhere else but on Hermione at that point in time, but watching it back he felt a tug in his gut, sure he hadn't been with Ginny at the time, but there was an unspoken promise between them that Harry would return to Ginny, and then he had slept with his best friend and one of Ginny's closest female friends. Hermione's hand was still gripping Harry's tightly, but he wondered if she was thinking about Ron or possibly Draco.

Harry watched, feeling a little uncomfortable as he and Hermione undressed it each other, it had felt passionate and frantic at the time, but looking at it now it wasn't, it was passionate and slow.

'_Harry,' Hermione gasped when they eventually lay naked together, still kissing each other until they were forced to break for air, 'remember the charm.'_

_Harry paused for a breath and murmured a charm under his breath with Hermione's wand, since his had been snapped in the snake attack. He threw the wand to the floor and looked back to his best friend, 'final chance,' he whispered, 'do you want to do this?'_

'_Yes,' Hermione whispered, realising that there was no going back after this._

_Harry nodded, and leaned down to kiss her once more. What had followed had been a blur to them both at the time, but watching it back it was as passionate and slow as it had been to begin with._

_Hermione let out a gasp of pain at first, and Harry distracted her by kissing her which seemed to work, and then the two friends began to move in sync with each other. They were both very quiet, only emitting moans and sighs occasionally, Hermione had her eyes shut as she gripped Harry's back tightly and pulled him closer to her, she was never imagining anything apart from the reality however and Harry was doing the opposite. He had his eyes wide open, he never took his eyes off of Hermione. At the time, it had felt like it had lasted forever, but in reality it had only really been about 10 minutes. _

Harry and Hermione were standing awkwardly as they watched it back, they still hadn't let go of each other's hands though.

_Hermione tightened her grip on Harry, pulling his body close to hers, her back arched and she let out a slightly louder moan. Only seconds later Harry let out a low groan and his entire body tensed up, the moment he loosened up he let himself fall gently so he was half lying on Hermione, but half lying next to her. _

_The two friends took a moment to catch their breath._

'_Was that the first time for you too?' Hermione asked gently, she was fairly sure it was, after all Harry would have told her if anything had happened between him and Ginny._

'_Yeah,' Harry said as he kissed Hermione on the forehead._

_They were silent for a while longer, 'I'm scared Harry,' Hermione admitted, letting him hear the vulnerability in her voice, after all he had now seen her at her most vulnerable._

'_Come here,' Harry said as he pulled Hermione into his arms, 'I'm scared too, but we'll be okay.'_

At that the memory ended and Harry and Hermione found themselves in the common room again, they both sat down on the sofa and for a moment they were quiet as they tried to figure out what to say.

'So what did we gather from that?' Hermione asked finally after a long pause.

'That we shouldn't have pushed it away and forgot about it so quickly,' Harry said, he glanced at Hermione with one of those looks full of emotion.

'Harry, we agreed that it was a mistake, which happened because we were scared and vulnerable,' Hermione said quietly.

'Do you really think that after seeing it back?' Harry asked, 'and you know as well as I do Hermione that what we watched was one of many nights spent like that in the tent.'

'But then Ron came back, and we agreed to forget about it,' Hermione said, not meeting Harry's eyes.

'Did you and Ron…'

'No,' Hermione said quickly, 'Did you and Ginny?'

'No,' Harry said, although he had a suspicion that Hermione already knew that.

'What about you and Daphne?' Hermione asked and Harry nodded, 'Yeah, you and Draco?'

Hermione nodded and said, 'Yes, we have.'

'So we've moved on then,' Harry said, although he didn't really sound like he believed it.

Hermione nodded but didn't actually say anything and wasn't particularly surprised when Harry made his way over to her and kissed her. She kissed him back immediately, as if on autopilot without even thinking about, and although the kiss was nice there wasn't anywhere near as much emotion in it as there had been when they had kissed in the tent and they could both feel that.

'We've moved on,' Hermione said when Harry broke the kiss and Harry nodded, 'we need to tell them, don't we?'

'No,' Hermione said thoughtfully, 'not now, for now it can be our secret to keep. It wasn't a mistake and we shouldn't forget it, I never will, but that doesn't mean I haven't moved on.'

Harry nodded and gave his friend a small smile, 'I understand.'

Hermione smiled too and kissed Harry on the cheek, she got to her feet, 'Goodnight Harry,' she said softly.

'Goodnight Mione,' Harry said as he watched Hermione leave the common room for her dorm. Even just saying 'Mione' made him flashback to those nights when he had moaned and sighed his nickname for her.

Harry gave an exasperated sigh and pushed the thoughts from his head, he didn't harbour the same emotions towards Hermione he had back then, but that didn't mean that he didn't still love her in some way.

A part of Harry Potter's heart would always belong to his best friend.

_**The End **_

_**(of this little mini plot, but if you liked it and haven't read 'The 8**__**th**__** Year' then you should give it a shot :D)**_


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